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Volleyball
28/03/2020

Brait: “De Gennaro is the best libero in the world”

The 31-year-old libero returned to the Brazilian national team in 2019

São Paulo, Brazil, March 28, 2020 – Being recognized for your work is always great, but when the compliments come from a competitor it's even better. Italian Monica De Gennaro can be proud of accomplishing just that after Camila Brait called her the best libero in the world.

The comment was made during a live session on Brait’s club's Instagram account earlier this week. When asked by fans who the best libero in the world was, the 31-year-old Brazilian Osasco Audax libero wasted no time in pointing to the 33-year-old Italian, who was also voted the best in the position at the end of the last two editions of the FIVB World Championships, in 2014 and 2018.

“To me, De Gennaro is the best in the world,” said Brait. “There are several others I love, such as (the Dominican Republic’s) Brenda Castillo and (Serbia’s) Silvija Popovic. Japanese and Chinese liberos are usually great as well.”

During the chat with the fans, Brait, who returned to the Brazilian national team during the 2019 FIVB World Cup after a three-year absence, also explained how the birth of her first daughter, Alice, in November 2017, had impacted her game.

“I think that it made me mature a lot and pushed me to step up on something Luizomar (de Moura - Osasco Audax’s head coach) has always asked from me, which is managing the team’s backcourt,” she reflected. “It made me more confident and more comfortable to be more of a leader in the team. I also feel like it developed a sort of maternal spirit towards my teammates. I always want to check on them and make sure they are well, just like mothers do.”